Golf club



July 10, 1928.

N. D. MATTISON GOLF CLUB Filed June 11, 1927 o o o Int 12112 01 4 A m,

Patented July 10, 1923.

UNITED STATES NORMAN n. MATTISON, or MON'I'QLAIB, NEW messy.

GOLF cum.

Application filed June 11,

This invention relates to golf clubs, and more particularly to a club designed to be used in practice to improve a players game.

One reason players lack skill and consistency in performance is that they do not acquire rhythm in body movement, which may be defined as the result of the successful effort to keep control'of ones center of gravity in the foot-down posture. A player should not attempt to hit a golf ball until his sense of rhythm has been thoroughly awakened. One of the objects of the present invention is to devise a practice golf club which will assist a player in improving his swing and in acquiring the rhythm in body movement which is essential to a proper swing.

The invention contemplates a club of such construction that in the course of the swing thereof it will give audible indication of the character of the swing'.. The player may practice until he succeeds in consistently producing the audible indication which occurs in making a proper swing.

Another object is to provide a golf club which is so constructed that its center of gravity may be adjusted to change its moment, which may be defined as the product of the weight of the club multiplied by the distance of the proximal end of the club from its center of gravity. It is proposed to devise a club which can be adjusted to resemble approximately the feel of any club which a player may use. This adjustment also is a convenient means for determining the clubs best suited to each individual.

With the aforesaid and other purposes in view, the character of the invention will best be understood by reference to the following description of one good form thereof shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a golf club embodying the invention;

Fig. -2 is a longitudinal section, on an enlarged. scale, through a portion of the shaft;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section throughanother portion of the shaft;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and I Fig. 5 is a view of the head of'the club- I and a portion of the shaft, and shows the,

means for detachably securing the head to the shaft.

Referring to the drawing, the golf club 1927. Serial No. 198,015.

shown therein as one good form of the in- 11 projecting into the tubular s aft, the

extent of insertion of the shank into the shaft being limited by the engagement of a flange 13 -on the shank with the end of the shaft. Fast on the shaft is a ring 15 having a threaded hole registering with a hole in the shaft to receive a set screw 17 which may be adjusted to secure the shank to the shaft. The construction is such that the head may be easily fastened in the shaft or removedtherefrom, and it may be turned about the axis of the shaft and secured in different positions of adjustment for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The shaft may be provided with one or more stops as desired. As 7 shown, three stops 19, 21 and 23 are provided and they are arranged to be secured in different positions of adjustment along the length of the shaft. For this purpose each stop has a clamp 25 provided with a hole registering with a threaded hole in the stop which receivesa thumb screw 27, so that when the screw is tightened it will cause the clamp and stop to grip portions of the shaft between them. V

Cooperating with the stops are weights, in the present instance, three weights 29, 31 and 33 being provided, each of said weights being desirably in the form of a. disk. These weights may be of different sizes or all of the same size as desired.

If it be desired to remove a stop from the shaft, its screw 27 is removed, therebydetaching the clamp 25 from the shaft. The

stop may thenslide out of the shaft through the distal end thereof, after removal of the head, or on removal of the plug 7.

. Means is provided releasably to confine one of the weights within the tubular handle. This means, in the present instance, comprises a trigger 35 pivotally connected to a strap 37 which embraces and is secured to the shaft. The end 39 of the trigger is urged through the slot into the shaft by a leaf spring 41 secured by the strap to the shaft and having its free end engaging the thumb piece 43 of the trigger. The construction is such that in the course of the swing of the club the thumb or a finger of one of the hands of the player may press the trigger against the opposition of its spring and move the end 39 out of the slot and release the weight within the handle, thereb allowing the weight to fly along the sha t until arrested by engagement with one of the stops. I The practice golf club thus provided has a variety of uses. One of the most important is in furnishing an audible indication of the character of the swing of the club. As the club is raised and swung back, the weights will slide along the shaft toward the proximal end of the club, and in the course of the down swing of the club, the weights will fly 3 toward the head of the club. The arrangement of the stops may be such that the weights will come progressively or concurrently into engagement with them. Thus the timing of the clicks or impacts produced 2 by the striking of the weights against the stops varies With the swing and gives an audible indication of the character of the swing. I

bkillful playing of golf requires that 3 proper attention be givento the back swing of the club. In all strokes from a short putt to a long drive it is desirable. to take the club back slowly from the ball. My practice club, if given a too rapid full back swing, will develop centrifugal force sufiicient to prveent theweights from moving away from the sto s toward the proximal end of the club. 8n the otherhand, if the back swing is timed witha proper-degree of slowness, the

40 force of gravity on the weights will be greater than the action of centrifugal force on them, and they will drop away from the stops toward the proximal end ofthe club. Thus the weights will serve as a means of inpronerly timed.

A right handed golf player places his right hand in advance of his left hand on a club and holds the club firmly with his left hand and loosely with his right hand. Since the thumb or a finger of the right hand is used in operating the trigger, the control of the club by the left hand is not disturbed. The trigger may be pressed to release the weight in the handle so that it may fly outward at any time in the course of the swing of the club. The release of the weight by the trigger and the impact of the weight on one of the stops may be so controlled as to give the player a sense of feel simulating that of striking a ball, and the impact may be caused to occur at any point in the down swing. This is a desirable feature of the club in practice, since many players are often ball shy in that they may control Well -a dicating whether or not the back swing is Lemme Another desirable feature of this practice 7 golf club is its construction to produce a whistle. This is caused by the rush of air past to the slot in the shaft during the swing of the club. It is found that this whistle is most pronounced when the shaft is so connected to the head that the slot will face forward, and the variation in the whistle serves as-an indication of the speed with which the club is swung.

The club is a convenient means for accurately determining a players needs as to weights and lengths of individual clubs or sets of clubs. The stops may be adjusted to confine the weights between them at different positions along the length of the shaft, and thus the club may be varied with respect to the roduct of its total weight and radius; Vith most players the hands are placed to grip the handle about the same distance from the end of the shaft on allclubs. Accordingly, the force which mustbe exerted by the hands at their usual locations will depend upon the moment to be overcome. This practice club makes it possible to try out different weights of clubs of the same length, and the length of the club can be varied by adjusting the shank 11 in orout of the shaft so that different lengths of clubs of the same weight may be trled out.

weights for clubs of different lengths, or the right lengths for clubs of given weights. It will be understood that in accomplishing these purposes, not only may a weight or Weights be adjusted alon the shaft to vary the position of the center of gravity, but also weights may be added to or takenfrom the shaft to vary the weight of the club as desired;

Most players have a favorite club with which they are able to play with more success than other clubs. The construction of this practice club is such that it may be adjusted to have the moment of any such fa vorite club. This may serve to indicate the changes to be made in other clubs, in order that they ma have the proper moment for the best resu ts;

In this connection it may also be pointed out that the efi'ort'required of a player to swing a club is equal to the kinetic energy in the head of the club at the time that it meets the ball. This kinetic energy is proportional to the square of the velocity of the head at the moment of impact with the ball. Assuming, for convenience of expla- .A.lso,' it enables determination of the right I nation, that the head of the club is swung kinetic energy is undoubtedly animportant factor in the feel of a club, and the club provided by this invention permits the player to make the necessary adjustments to vary this factor for a given velocity of swing. He can either adjust the weights or add or subtract weights, as he desires, and he can also change the radius of the swing by adjusting the shank 11 in or out of the tube 1 more or less so as to vary the length of the club. When the adjustment has been made which is most agreeable to the player, he can then select a playing club which approximates very closely the characteristics of the practice club as finally adjusted.

One of the most important requirements for skillful playing is proper pronating,

which is the correct turning of the wrists and forearms at the beginning of the swing. By changing the position or weight of the stops or weights, the club can automatically lighten itself at the time the hands are pronating, this being perhaps the most difficult part of a golf stroke to control properly.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment shown, and that various deviations may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A golf club comprising a shaft, a plurality of stops carried by the shaft, and weights slidable along the shaft into audible engagement with the stops in the course of the swing of the club, thereby to indicate the character of the swing. v

2. A golf club comprising a head, a tubu-' lar shaft, and means in the shaft for producing a plurality of clicks in the course of the swing of the club and thereby indicate the character of the swing.

3. A golf clug comprising a head, a tubular shaft, a plurality of stops in the shaft, means to hold them in different positions of adjustment along the length of the shaft,

and weights in the shaft slidable into engagemenfiwith the stops in the course of the swing of the club.

4. A olf club comprising a head, a tubular sha t, a stop in, the shaft adjustable to different positions along the length thereof,

. and a weight inthe shaft slidable into engagement with the stop in the course of the swlng of the club. 5. A golf club comprising a head, a tubular shaft, and a plurality of weights in the shaft movable to different positions spaced substantially from each other alongthe length of the shaft.

6. A golf club comprising a shaft, a weight slidable along the .shaft, and means to prevent the wei ht from sliding toward the distal end of t e club, said means being manually operable to permit the weight to slide toward said end. I

7 .A golf club comprising a tubular shaft having a slot extending longitudinally .of the shaft, a trigger, and a spring urging a part of the trigger through the slot into the shaft to limit sliding of the weight in the shaft, said trigger being operable by one of the hands of a player to release the weight.

8. A golf club comprising a head, a tubular shaft, a stop in said shaft, a manually operable trigger on the shaft adjacent the handle of the club, and a weight slidable in the shaft past the trigger to the stop on release of the trigger. s

9. A golf club comprising a head, a tubu-' lar shaft having a slot extending along the same, a stop in the shaft, means projecting through the slot for holding the stop in different positions along the length of the shaft,

' and a weight in the shaft slidable into engagement with the stop in the course of the swing of the club.

10. A golf club comprising a head, a tubu-' lar shaft having a handle, a trigger attached to the shaft adjacent the handle, and y a weight slidable in the handle toward the head of the shaft on release of the trigger.

11. A golf club comprising a head and a' tubular shaft having a slot extending longitudinally thereof adapted to produce awhistle in the course of the club. I

12. A golf club comprising a head, a shaft therefor, and means carried by the shaft for producing a plurality of clicks during a swing of the club in playing and thereby serving -to indicate the character of the swing.

13. A golf club comprising a head, a' shaft therefor, a plurality of stops carried by the shaft, means for holding said stops in difswing of the ferent positions of adjustment longitudinally of the shaft, and weights slidable along the shaft into engagement with the stops during the swingm of the club.

N RMAN D. MATTISON. 

